Thanks Revenged,
I had a feeling that the antibiotics could be playing a huge role in this. My symptoms have always been there even before taking them, but I am sure they are exasperating the underlying problem, which is what I need to have checked out by a doctor. Also, I am sorry to hear about the person you knew who died after taking a homeopathic's advice. That's tragic.
One thing about the antibiotics and my symptoms is that i am not experiencing diarria, in fact, I am probably more constipated., but can't really tell for sure, since I tend to lean that way even when I am symptom free.
I will look into my options with a Gastroenterologist.

Well, something I am finding that really helps is drinking a lot of water.
I am trying not to eat in between meals, except at bedtime I will allow myself a treat, but instead of eating, I am now going to try to drink plenty of water. It seems to cut down on bloat, and hearburn. Intuitively it makes sense as it washes away toxins and etc...
So we will see.

This is the fiarst time I have looked up this problem on the net and I'm so glad to find this site!
However, there seems to be many causes and symptoms so I'm not even sure I'm on the right track with what I have.
I've put on nearly 10kilos in the past 8 months. I have always been so underweight and ate whatever I wanted. I'm 28years old.
I gave up smoking, I am taking acidolphilus tablets daily as I constantly get thrush (although this has been a problem my whole life). I thought perhaps it was because my metabolism slowed down after giving up smoking, but 8 months on this is just getting embarrassing. I cant fit any of my clothes and have been asked if I'm pregnant. I have a child who's eight, even after giving birth to him, I went straight down to the same weight I was before I was even pregnant.
I just want to clarify whether the bloating is in our lower abdomin or around the stomach.....there seems to be a mixed bunch of us and perhaps that could be two different causes. Mine is definatly my lower gut. I can wake up and I have a flat gut, but after breakfast (two pieces of brown bread and a coffee) I already look pregnant. Going out to dinner is a nightmare!
After reading all your comments, I think my next step is to go to my GP and just eliminate some of the more common causes.
I know we've all said 'thank god we're not alone' but I actually still feel alone when I'm trying on a pair of pants I've had for 10 years and NOW they dont fit anymore!!! GRRRRR!

I stumbled on this because I've been having the same problems and have gone from size 8 to size 16 over the last couple of years. I had a thought...

Most people who are posting here are observing a healthy diet (fruit, veggies, grains and/or bran, etc.). And most have tried eliminating some of the trigger foods that usually cause problems, like dairy or wheat products. Now how about we try something completely wild, since no one has come up with any solution yet???

Let's just eat badly for awhile--fried foods, bacon, greasy burgers, whatever. I can't remember the name of that fad diet where you elimate carbs like veggies, but can eat all the ham and bacon and beef and butter you want. What can it hurt to give it a try?

I've grown frustrated with all the healthy foods and how they make me feel. Eating a wonderful juicy apple or a nice crisp salad leaves my stomach actually growling with hunger pains and bloating up with gas! So I am going to try the opposite for awhile just to see what happens. Anyone else game to give it a try? How much more miserable can we all become, with no answers in sight?

Well, I wrote on here earlier and was wondering what to do with my stomach bloating outward. I accidentally found a cure when I went on the cabbage soup diet. The problem is that you are supposed to only stay on the cabbage soup diet for 7 days. I lost alot of weight on that diet, but now that I'm not on it, my stomach is starting to protrude every day again. and I'm starting to feel uncomfortable again. The cabbage soup diet is basically lots of fruits, veggies, and cabbage soup. After just 2 days on it I felt like a radiator that had just been flushed out and I felt sooooo good and my stomach was not swelling up! I guess I'm going to have to stay on it to feel good, or at least 4 days per week maybe.
Anyhow, just wanted to say that it helped me 100% and so maybe it is the carbs that are bad for me?? I don't know.
Thought I'd let you all know though.
TR

I too suffer from bloating all of the time. I look pregant! Anyway, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It means that I have gluten sensitivity. The cure for the bloating and other problems is to live a gluten free life. This is easier said than done because gluten is found in almost everything! You have to stay away from wheat, rye, barley, and oats. This means no pizza, pasta, bread, cookies, cake, etc.....but this is just the obvious stuff. You can't have things like chocolate, soy sauce, certain dressings and graveys, just to mention a few. You have to become a label reader to follow this diet. I am suffering with a huge belly right now because I broke down and ate some bread yesterday. Tell your doctor that you want the blood test for Celiac Disease. If you are positive, you will need to get an endoscopy, with a bioposy of the small intestine. I hope this provides the answer for many of you and I hope you feel better.

I want to suggest to everyone that they look for a practitioner of Chi Nei Tsang trained by Gilles Marin of Berkeley, California. Go to the Chi Nei Tsang official site and they post trained practitioners. If you are in the Bay Area you can see Gilles at his office in Berkeley. Another possibility is a practitioner of Visceral Manipulation (devised by Jean Baral - a French Osteopath). Try contacting The Upledger Institute for practitioners.

A regular Osteopoath could also help, but if you can find one who also does VM this is best. Jeff Burch in Portland Oregon and also Eugene.

With regard to my previous post, I also meant to recommend you Google sensiblehealth and read through the site. These tinctures helped me a lot. I took Chinese Bitters in the morning and Coptis at night. Coptis tastes awful, but persevere - you can have a little honey ready to take after! Later I took Gold Coin Grass Tincture, you can do a liver flush after this. Start with a teaspoon. You need to take them for at least 1 - 3 months, then you can go to every other day or whatever works for you. The site is well worth reading through.

Jeff Burch of Portland Oregon also has a very useful website. I would also recommend a good, experienced DOM (Doctor of Oriental Medicine). Their remedies go back thousands of years, and everything is based on natural ingredients. Likewise a practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine.

I have struggled with this problem for years and am only now just feeling improvement due to the above. I even gave up black tea which I have been addicted to for years ( I am from England!), and saw a dramatic improvement. I believe it was seriously irritating my stomach! You might try giving up anything you eat or drink regularly each day, for a while, and having completely different things.

I have been reading everyones story. I have been suffering from the same symptoms since 2001. I was in the military for 8 years and the past six years I have gained a tremendous amount of weight. I would lose the weight and then it would all come back. I did not start having a problem with my stomach until I got to Germany I showed the unit doctor my stomach one day and she asked me if I had swallowed a basketball. She tried to help me as much as she could. She told me to slow down on brown beans, broccolli, cabbage, dairy, orange juice and some other things that I can't remember. I was stationed at Ft. Benning, GA, still having the same complications. The doctors there said there was nothing wrong with me. When you are looking like you are five months pregnant and you know that you are not, there is something wrong. I am no longer in the military. I had my first child 2 years ago and my belly still looks like she lives there. People ask me all the time if I am pregnant again. It really hurts my feelings because I know that I have a problem but I can't tell anyone what it is because I have no clue myself. I am making plans right now to see a specialist. Maybe I will have an answer very soon that I maybe able to share with you all. Thanks for sharing your stories.

My problem is similar. For the past two years I have been suffering, on and off, with major stomach bloating and pain. I look 7 months pregnant when my stomach bloats up and the only way to get rid of the pain is to lie down and go to sleep. It usually lasts a day and then I'm fine again (until the next time) - only once it lasted three days in a row. I've tried monitoring when it occurs and there is no pattern - - I can have no gap, a two day gap, a week gap or a month gap between problems (there really is no pattern). I have tried monitoring the food I eat and I can see no correlation (I'm still waiting for food allergy tests - I let you know if there is any result). I am on a general diet now to lose weight because I wondered if the rubbish food I eat (chocolate, biscuits etc) and the fact that I was slightly overweight had anything to do. It hasn't helped. I've been on the diet of healthy foods for three weeks now - I've lost weight but twice (once last week) and now today I am ceized with stomach pain. Only sleeping seems to help - but of course you can't tell your boss that you have to go home to bed everytime this happens! So, what is causing it? The doctors haven't got a clue. They try to wave responsibility by telling me that it might be that I am depressed. That makes me a bit cross because if I was slightly depressed I would think they were right and probably get more depressed. BUT I'am not depressed - I love my work, I love my home, I love my boyfriend and I love our son and I have a relaxed life and and and.... I am most certainly not depressed! So, if anyone has any ideas - I'd love to know! Cheers!

Last edited by Dizey on Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.

My problem is similar. For the past two years I have been suffering, on and off, with major stomach bloating and pain. I look 7 months pregnant when my stomach bloats up and the only way to get rid of the pain is to go to lay down and go to sleep. It usually lasts a day and then I'm fine again (until the next time) - only once it lasted three days in a row. I've tried monitoring when it occurs and there is no pattern - - I can have no gap, a two day gap, a week gap or a month gap between problems (there really is no pattern). I have tried monitoring the food I eat and I can see no correlation (I'm still waiting for food allergy tests - I let you know if there is any result). I am on a general diet now to lose weight because I wondered if the rubbish food I eat (chocolate, biscuits etc) and the fact that I was slightly overweight had anything to do. It hasn't helped. I've been on the diet of healthy foods for three weeks now - I've lost weight but twice (once last week) and now today I am ceized with stomach pain. Only sleeping seems to help - but of course you can't tell your boss that you have to go home to bed everytime this happens! So, what is causing it? The doctors haven't got a clue. They try to wave responsibility by telling me that it might be pshycological - that I could be depressed. That makes me a bit cross because if I was slightly depressed I would think they were right and probably get more depressed. BUT I'am not depressed - I love my work, I love my home, I love my boyfriend and I love our son and I have a relaxed life and and and.... I am most certainly not depressed! So, if anyone has any ideas - I'd love to know! Cheers!